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Down & Out-Douchebagged: The Whole Story

Last night was better. Obviously the onfield action wasn’t a high point, but the situation in the stands was much improved from the Disaster That Was Game Three. Texas Gal and I got what we expected as visiting fans, what we wanted all along–the right to root, root, root for the Red Sox without being cursed at, harassed, and treated like we’d committed some unforgivable, anti-Ohio sin like saying Drew Carey isn’t funny or that Bob Evans gives us diarrhea.

That said, I would like to thank everyone who let us just be Sox fans, who let us cheer and let us mourn without criticizing us for either one. Thank you to every Indians supporter who did nothing more than shout loudly for their team, a strong team that played another great game in what has been a magical season. That’s what we tried to do too.

On Monday evening, Texy and I met at Panini’s, a bar within walking distance of Jacobs Field. We took some good natured ribbing from the Indians’ fans there, but nothing that wasn’t said with a smile. “How much did you pay for that t-shirt?”, one guy asked, gesturing to my Dice-K: Gun From the Rising Sun tee. “About 15 bucks,” I replied. He laughed, ordered another Labatt’s and said “Well, just another $49,999,985 until you break even on that investment.” I laughed back (quite possibly because I was drinking) and felt good about the night, about the Sox’ chances, and about being in Cleveland (most definitely because I was drinking).

I’d never had a bad experience cheering for the Sox on the road, not even on that October night in 2004 when the Sox took home the World Series trophy for the first time since our flag had 48 stars. Hell, the fans in St. Louis were more concerned that I was going to vote for John Kerry than they were about my Johnny Damon jersey, two things that seemed like much better ideas at the time.

Texy and I headed to the Jake to watch the Sox take batting practice and share that unmatched feeling of happiness that, for me, seems to be triggered by stadium lights and bullpens and wind sprints (and sometimes by buying 18 pounds of gummy peaches on the internet). As we walked to our seats, we were blissfully oblivious to how horribly wrong the evening would end, like two counselors at Camp Crystal Lake unrolling their sleeping bags and marveling at how peaceful the water looked.

We picked the seats at random…the location was excellent (right behind home plate), reasonably priced, and covered by an overhang, in case of locusts or boils or whatever other plagues traveled from the pages of Exodus to the banks of Lake Erie. We were the only Sox fans in the section, but we weren’t worried. The youngest of the Indians fans appeared to be about 55, and one man was wearing a Levitra hat. I’m not sure if he was announcing that he’d overcome his erectile dysfunction problems or warning us that he could pop a four hour erection at any time.

1st Inning: Scoreless and uneventful, saved for the gentleman beside me yelling “HIT IT TO PALOOKAVILLE!” every time Cleveland stepped to the plate. His wife asked if we’d gotten the seats from the season ticket holders. When I told her that we’d purchased them on the internet, she looked confused, either because this couple had sold their playoff tickets or because she was unsure what this “internet” was.

2nd Inning: Another poor outing from the Sox bats. Dice K looks timid, giving up a single to Ryan Garko. “C’mon Dice K!”, I yell, because I’m clever. “Shut up!”, I hear from the row behind me. I turn around and see a white haired, white bearded man staring at me. “Shut up!” he says again, because he is clever too. I turn back around in time to see original Jamestown settler Kenny Lofton send one over the wall. Boom, 2-0 Indians and we realize that the fans aren’t being pro-Cleveland as much as they are anti-Boston, which doesn’t seem fair to their team; “Suck it, Boston!” probably isn’t what Kenny wanted to hear as he crossed home plate, assuming he still can hear.

We again stand and clap for Dice K and immediately White Beard yells “SHUT THE FUCK UP!”. We look at him and he pops his windbreaker, like Carmelo Anthony circa 2004, and says “SHUT UP! THIS IS FUCKING CLEVELAND!”. I wanted to tell him that I knew that from the smell but said nothing. Good times already.

3rd Inning: Lugo, Pedroia, and Youk go down faster than I can even spell Palookaville. We still yell “Luuuuugo” and “Yooooouk”, but the Indians fans are too busy turning on one of their own. A guy in a Sizemore shirt is trying to get everyone around him to get on their feet, to stand up and yell for Jake Westbrook, but they’re having none of it. Everyone yells at him to sit down. He doesn’t. They have a colorful exchange that ends when security is called and actually makes this man take a seat. Our section claps louder than they did for Lofton’s homer. I feel the unmistakeable pop of a white towel being snapped against the back of my head. Sigh. It’s Tribe Time now.

4th Inning: Papi leads off the inning with a double and, predictably, our cheers are drowned out by the entire row behind us. “GO BACK TO BOSTON”, they shout at us. “GET YOUR ASSES BACK TO BOSTON!” Apparently, they’re as surprised to see Red Sox fans outside of Fenway as we are to see Cleveland fans outside of Wal-Mart. In one of the more bizarre plays, Manny’s grounder hits Papi who’s running from second to third. Papi’s automatically out and the delightful “MANNY SUCKS! MANNY SUCKS!” chants start again.

My left ear has taken a racehorse-like whipping from a white towel. I turn around to see a flannel-clad woman with a mullet and the beginnings of her own playoff beard. “WHAT?” she grunts. “If you hit me with that towel again…” I say. “What? What are you gonna do about it?” I turn back around in time to get a shot on the other ear from her life partner. “We’re cheering for our team, bitch. It’s our right as fans”. They hit me in unison, happier than they’ve been since Summer Clearance Day at Eddie Bauer.

5th Inning: Varitek, Crisp, and Lugo do nothing. I’m now not only getting whipped with the towels after every out, but now Eddie & Bauer are complaining to the entire row in their grating Ohio-y accents “We’d LIKE to cheer, but the BOSTON fans said we CAN’T. You believe that? Can’t even CHEER now.” And we’ve made a new friend in the row in front of us. With every out, he turns and points at us, laughing. “How do you like that? Huh? HAHAHAHA! How do you like that? HAHAHAHA! You suuuuuuuuuuck!”.

Texy’s getting tapped on the shoulder with every Boston failure. Strike one taptaptap on the shoulder. Strike two taptaptaptap. Strike three taptaptaptap. We try to harness our powers of telekinesis. Carrie made it look so damn easy.

Believe it or not, here’s where it gets worse. Casey Blake sends one to left field, just short of Palookaville. We’re still cheering for Dice K, ignoring the shut up‘s, fuck you‘s, and we’re definitely not going back to Boston since neither of us live there. My ears are numb from the towels and I wonder how long I’m going to have to use a lint roller on my scalp.

Dice K walks Grady Sizemore and Asdrubal Cabrera drives in a run. Travis Hafner singles and Sizemore scores. 4-0 Indians and Dice K is done. Our new best friends are thrilled, but again, not for the Indians. “BYE BYE RICE K!” shouts White Hair. “RICE K SUCKS!”. What followed was an entire row of fans using some of the most racially offensive comments heard since the Great War ended. One man was tugging at the corner of his eyes, making a horribly crude gesture and the others continued with the racism. I was incredibly upset and angry. “Now YOU SHUT UP”, I said back to them, which helped about zero percent.

Dane Cook shows up on the Jumbotron, reminding us that there’s only ONE OCTOBER. True. And there are 58 people in this section ruining it for us.

6th Inning:See 4th Inning.

7th Inning: One out, one on and oh Captain, my Captain, Jason Varitek sends one over the wall, raising his post-season average to a stellar .100. Boston’s on the board with 2 runs and we’re ecstatic. For one glorious moment, we don’t hear anything except our own voices. “YEAH TEK!!!” we yell, before hearing that Tek sucks, Boston sucks, and we need to fucking sit down.

The Laughing Guy (I know, he needs a real name and if you recognize him under the LOLDouche script, please email it to us) is shouting at us, pointing, laughing, baiting us. “Bye bye, Boston! HAHAHAHAHA!”. He waves his finger in our faces. “HAHAHAHA FUCK YOU, BOSTON! HAHAHA!”.

I’m furious. I hate this ma—wait. He thinks I’m skinny? He thinks I’m skinny! I love this man!

The last innings were a blur. There was more yelling. I yelled back. I cursed back, using words and phrases I learned on the back of the school bus. You can only take so much. The second that Jason Varitek popped out for the last out, we headed for the exit. And then the bottle hit us.

My GOD. What would make these people torment us? We don’t pull the “But we’re GIIIIIRLS!” card out, but we are. Smart, cute, Sox-loving, awesome girls who did NOT deserve to be treated this way. Not by anyone, especially grown men who were cursing, shouting, and humiliating us to the delight of other cursing men (and two towel-waving creatures that may or may not have been women). We paid for our seats just like they did–probably paid more than they did–and we didn’t enjoy a damn second of it.

It didn’t end on the field. The walk to the car was a veritable gauntlet of abuse, using the same magnetic poetry kit of charming phrases that were hurled at us for nine long, miserable innings. We were physically shoved by two men who shouted “BOSTON SUCKS” right in our faces.

While I’m not in favor of anyone being assholish about it, I’m willing to give the Cleveland faithful a little ground because THIS IS THE PLAYOFFS and YOU WORE THE ENEMY’S COLORS.

You expect harassment in the regular season when you’re a fan of the visitors, right? In the playoffs, especially against a team with a fan-base so notoriously nuts and so starved for success, you were walking into a lion’s den. Doesn’t matter that you weren’t doing anything other than cheering for the Sox, because that was PLENTY disgusting and offensive enough to the people you were surrounded by. You were the bad guys, period.

And smart, cute, awesome girls are everywhere. But only rarely do the fans of some teams get this close to historic, euphoric success…especially Cleveland’s teams. So while not entirely excusable, their irrational behavior is just that much more understandable.

You know what we should have thought of? Loading them up with spritzer bottles of water. Used to do this at Alabama games as a shorty when I had to sit in the opposing student section with my cousins. Somebody touches you, you turn around and squirt them in the face with a firm “NO. NO.” Like a bad kitty.

I don’t remember hearing anything like this at Shea for game 2 of last year’s NLCS. But I’ve heard things at Yankee Stadium that would make your head spin. It really could happen anywhere, and that’s what sucks. When you combine beer and rabid fandom, this is what happens.

That said, I didn’t like Cleveland already, and this story just confirms it.

Going to an opponents’ stadium dressed in the visitor’s colors doesn’t make you a bad guy. Of course, you’re in “someone else’s home”, so you go with respect. But you shouldn’t be cursed at, harassed or treated like that for being a visitor.

And there’s a difference between logical yet passionate playoff “harassment” and what we went through. At no point does your team’s playoff berth give you the right to make the opposing team’s fans–male or female–start to fear for their safety.

Hearing racist comments, having things thrown at us, and being pushed on the street while trying to get to our car? Not expected, not needed, and not acceptable.

Longtime Lurker-yes, it happens everywhere. Every single one of us has said that. But does the playoffs excuse those “fans” for their actions? I think not. It’s one thing to be yelled at and have the requisite “Boston Sucks” yelled at you. It’s another to be called a bitch every inning when a play happens, be physically assaulted, and have someone hit you with bottles and towels. I don’t care if this is the seventh game of the World Series and your sworn enemy was sitting right in front of you-NOBODY DESERVES THAT.

Everyone complains about Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park or says “it happens at every other stadium too.” How about being the one person that acts like an adult and don’t join in the harassment?

I don’t know what to say, other than echo everyone else disgust. (Well, everyone except McSheWasAskingForIt-pants.)

Actually, speaking of Longtime Lurker’s comment…
This is the playoffs, our Ladies were wearing the enemy’s colors…and it is still just a game! Not even baseball could be considered important enough to warrant physical abuse. Not to a couple of women, not to anybody.

It. Is. A GAME. Not a war, not a life-or-death matter. (And this is coming from the girl who routinely pretends to be too busy to go to parties, because there’s a ballgame on at home.)

Oh man. Thats bad. And the worst part is when your sarcasm and wit that has never failed you, EVER, totally fails you when you yell out a ‘shut up’ or ‘you suck’ and thats all you can even get out. I feel your complete pain, as I have totally been there. When Rockies fans were saying, ‘Players in philly hate playing there….you guys are the worst fans in baseball…” etc, all I could get out was a “Nuh-UH!”

That is so totally classless, and yet, it makes every sterotype I have ever thought about Ohio true…which is sad.

I can’t even believe that! I’m from Seattle, and Ive sat in front of my share of s Boston fans at games, but never in my life would I hit them with things or call them names. Your team is your team, based on where your from or who you want to do, or whatever.
Ugh, Ohio is the worst state ever. Who honestly wants to be or live there? If the Eastern conference didnt suck, and there was no LeBron, no one would know what Ohio was. What sort of f-d up men would rough up a woman, for the sheer fault of being a sports fan?? Whether or not they love your team, I thought a man would at least appreciate a woman who loves sports, no matter what the venue.

Please understand that I’m not saying that I’m in favor of what the Cleveland fans did. I find it as disrespectful and shitbaggy as the rest of rational humanity does.

And I have some practical experience as a multiple decade long fan of my favorite team, having traveled from one coast to the other and even crossing into Canada to watch them on the road. And I have been exposed to it all…from having a knife pulled on me in the stands and getting into a fistfight as a result, to being invited by the other team’s fans to share their tailgate barbecue and beer. From good-natured teasing, to people putting a finger in my face and telling me just how bad a job I am doing as a human being in the most colorful, alcohol-enhanced language they can think of. And everything in between.

My point is, when you’re going into an emotionally-charged atmosphere like that, and you’re rooting for the bad guys, you should anticipate PRECISELY what is described herein…or at least that’s what’s happened every time to me for over twenty years. Your mileage may vary, but that’s certainly how I have experienced it. Get a big group of people like that together in a stadium or arena, and the animal instincts kick in and rational, processed thought is nowhere to be found.

So if it came across that I thought she was asking for it, then I’m sure sorry. I was just trying to describe the reality of the situation as I’ve seen for a long time, and it doesn’t show signs of changing, irrespective of geography or generation. Loudmouth asshole fans are loudmouth asshole fans…in Cleveland and everywhere else. And they ARE everywhere, sadly.

Which is why I try to be part of the solution and not part of the problem, no matter where I’m watching my team play. I try to be that “good fan” that you see on the PSA’s on the Jumbotron. I’m not gonna be the douchebag that ruins it for everyone else in my section.

Again, sorry to have sounded like I was defending the assholes. May it never be so.

Good nature ribbing, hell, even some clever swearing and banter is one thing, but I draw the line at the repeated “tapping the shoulder” thing. I don’t know when/where that became acceptable, but screw that noise, physical contact is the line.

I totally agree, Chad (ACK! Agreeing with a Yankee!) — that’s the same line I have. Don’t touch me, don’t throw things at me, don’t shove me. I don’t give a shit what team I root for, that behavior is NEVER expected, and NEVER justified.

I had two different other guys touch me on Tuesday night, too – maybe Cleveland is just a particularly hands-y town.

I mean, I hate to break up a good discussion — and this has been a very good one — but umm….do we, by any chance, still get a HDH? Ladies… I love this site and I have just come to expect a certain amount of (s)excellence each Wednesday.

I’m not a confrontational person, and I’ve never been involved in a physical fight. I don’t think too highly of people who solve arguments with physicality… but if some guys had pushed me, then I sincerely believe that would have started my first ever fight. At least a kick to the balls. Anyways I know the very least I would have done would have been to snatch the towels from those two bitches.

Hey. I just wanted to say that I’m really sorry this happened to you at my team’s park. I’d like to think our fans are better at behaving themselves than this, but apparently sometimes, people have to be total assholes. I hope the rest of your post-season experience involves less racism and physical assault.

Damn I wish I was with you guys. I have total experiance in dealing with asshole fans. As a Bruins fan who has been to Montreal about 400 times to see the B’s lose 398 of those to the Canadiens….I’ve been abused plenty.

Hitting you with the towel would have been IT! Flannel and her chick would have been part of the Jake’s pavement when I got through. (hockey is in my blood, sorry)

The ethnic stuff doesn’t surprise me….these people paint their faces red and wear feathers. Not understanding why Native American groups got all over the Braves for the Chop when this is still going on. Anyway…you girls were very patient with them. More patient then I would have been.

Wow, girls, being a Cleveland fan, I am embarrassed that this happened at Jacobs Field. Did the person that sold the tix have some sort of fine print about being surrounded by the world’s biggest assholes!? Ugh, that is horrible.

Unfortunately, as a previous poster mentioned, some people can’t control their “asshatness” in times like these…we had stuff thrown at us at a Colts game before, and my 70 year old boss got treated the exact same way in Ann Arbor because he was dressed like Woody Hayes.
These guys followed him all the way to the stadium, spitting at him, screaming in his face calling him a fucking asshole, fucking loser, blah, blah, blah….still doesn’t make it right though.

If you were ever to come back to Cleveland, let’s meet up and we’ll go to a Cavs game…I think they are a lot mellower! LOL

God, they don’t call it Mistake by the Lake for nothing.
I’m sorry Ohio, that your Loser-complex is so strong that you can’t even tell the difference between good-natured ribbing and Royal Douchebaggery behavior. I’m sorry Ohio, that you are so unhappy with the small size of your penis that you need to harrass girls that are totally out of your league. I’m sorry Ohio that you’ve never had a winning sports team so you don’t know how to take anything with a grain of salt. Sorry that you never learned how to win with class because that would require actually winning. And sorry that you can’t be good sports about anything and can never even find anything intelligent to say about the opposing team but instead only find degrading racial or totally-off-the mark stereotypical things to shout about the opposing city. And most of all I’m sorry I even thought I’d root for you to win and represent the AL Central because you have the worst fans in the entire world and are a disgrace to the rest of us.

I know it’s a rather broad statement, but I’ve never heard of an enemy fan going to any Cleveland sporting event and having a relatively pleasant experience. If you’re actually a Cleveland fan and a decent person, well then, good for you.

GO SOX.

Also, I was in enemy territory before in Boston and while we got good naturely harrassed, our section pretty much high-fived us after the conclustion of the game and told us we were good sports about the whole thing. That’s how it’s supposed to be done. So thank you, Boston, for not stooping so low.

To me, this is an example of where fandom in general has gone wrong in recent years. People are going way beyond rivalry and making it personal. Going to school at Kansas, I learned to hate our rivals at Mizzou with the fire of 1,000 suns, and yet I’ve had many perfectly reasonable grown-up conversations with MU fans since then. There’s something about the group dynamic that makes people think it’s allright to act vicious and shitty.

I’ve read a lot of comments defending the verbal abuse. Fine, let’s give them offensive verbal abuse. But when you pop someone with a towel, or shove them or throw a projectile – can’t we all agree that’s over the line? Frankly, it’s fucking assault, and our ladies showed their mettle by refusing to get the cops involved, which was certainly within the reasonable options here.

Wow, what a mess. And I have to disagree with Lurker’s assessment that this is the behavior you have to expect going into a playoff game in enemy territory. You plan for the worst, sure, but I would’ve expected a lot of verbal abuse from drunken idiots… not physical abuse. I don’t think that’s something anyone would expect, ESPECIALLY from multiple people. One pushy jerk in a section, maaaybe, but everyone surrounding you in a section? Eeesh.

The verbal harassment isn’t fun, but you do have to suck it up and expect some of that at a playoff game. Anything beyond that, though, is unreasonably insane.

Then again, this is a team with people showing up in redface AND NOT EVEN REALIZING THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT. Perhaps we have to revise normal expectations. I wouldn’t expect (and have never seen) that kinda shit even from Yankee fans in Yankee Stadium.

Jody Foster in a mini-skirt? ooooooo… no wonder the guy was turning his eyes as if he was turning japanese-ah. Or maybe it was the proximity of the bearded lady. Hey, look! Someone even used the word “masterbate” in his comments. Too bad the bearded lady isn’t smart enough to use a computer…

If security made the pro-Westbrook guy sit down, where the he11 were they when the bearded lady and her bitch-hound were snapping towels at your ears? Something stinks in Cleveland and it ain’t just the river.

Texy and Gordo – That really sucks that you Ladies had to put up with the kind of bullshit. Despite the fact that it’s POSSIBLE at any stadium, there really seem to be some places that experience it far more than others (Lord knows we would NEVER do that at Shea. Alright, maybe just a little – but no bottles. We just throw fat guys).

And let me echo the “I would have beat some ass” sentiments. I have gone a few rounds with some clowns over things done to my female friends for far less.

This is repulsive. Nothing worse than a sore winner. It’s not the most enlightened crowd at the those Cleveland games, as witnessed by the idiots who paint their faces to look like Chief Wahoo. Which, to my mind, is no better than going out in blackface.
Just go to the game and root for your team, you don’t need to act like an ass.
This is coming from a Yankee fan who can’t stand the vast majority of other Yankee fans. Believe me, I know how obnoxious they can get. Every team has their fan base that gets out of control (how many times do I have to hear “Jeter Swallows!” shouted at me?), but it’s never acceptable.

wait, a cry baby red sox fan complains about how he is treated in cleveland by one or two obnoxious idiots after being treated reasonably well at a bar within a stone’s throw of the Jake? silly. I’ve seen this club/argument being swung both ways at cleveland— i.e. tribe fans are TOO nice… yankee fans would never let a sox fans do xyz in “their house” Silly. there are hooligans in every city… cleve seems to have less than most.

“Oh no!! They said that we suck. When in fact, we don’t suck. Those meanies.” Booo hooo hooo. Thank God you are from Boston b/c I’d have to burp you after breakfast and find a daycare center who will take lame crybabies while I go and do real work. Some day soon you will be taking steps all by yourself and you will realize that I don’t give a damn what you cry about because, in fact, the Red Sox do suck.

The crap the fans put you through wasn’t right. The racist comments were worse. But your stereotypes about Cleveland, the midwest in general and lesbians aren’t something to be proud of either.

And by the way, I’m from Cleveland. I hate Drew Carey, Bob Evans, I don’t shop at Wal Mart and I’m smart enough to know that a section of bad fans doesn’t make the entire fanbase, team or the city itself worthless.

As a Cleveland native and a die-hard fan of the Tribe, I couldn’t be more embarrassed. I’m sorry you had such a terrible experience. The midwest is supposed to be a more friendly, down-to-earth region than the bustling coastlines, but apparently not during October baseball. That’s a shame.

The staff at Jacobs Field are generally very friendly and professional. I wish you would have called an authority figure over at the first sight of this ridiculous behavior. Sure, the playoffs are intense, fan loyalty is intense, and friendly teasing is all good– but when people start assaulting one another physically and verbally (basically doing things that are illegal no matter where you are in this country), that’s totally unacceptable.

On this stage, the city of Cleveland has a chance to show that it’s a better host and a classier town than the likes of New York and LA, abut according to this article, they’re just not taking advantage of the opportunity. Truly disappointing.

On a lighter note, go Tribe! …At least the actual players and coaches are showing class out there.

red sox fans are the worst. no one wants to see red ox fans anywhere, like at a bar, let a lone their home stadium during the playoffs. i can understand being pissed that you got harassed for not doing anything but cheering positively for your team but dont act indignant. red sox fans have been pulling this shit for years. deal with it.

The difference between you and the Cleveland fans is that you go home and trash them on a website. They trash you to your face. Get a life.//

The best part of you rolled down your mother’s leg dude. “Trashing” some one on a website doesn’t hurt, getting hit with a bottle probably does. Like the mfy fan said earlier, verbal banter is cool, but if you get physical, you better assume the stance because you’re about to get an ass whipping.

Come on, you’re honestly telling me that the fenway faithful don’t pull that stuff? Does not make it right, but please don’t try and pull the class card just because you are losing, that’s Notre Dame’s place in the sporting world. In fact, I was at fenway for a series in 2000: one game a guy behind me was nice enough to squirt ketchup packs all over my back, and another guy took a swipe at my friend the following night.

Point is: you can make the lack of class argument at any ballpark, especially when it’s the playoffs.

As a Cleveland fan and (until 2 months ago) a life-long Clevelander, let me just say… I’m not surprised.

Cleveland’s old people are about as bad as it gets. They’re rude, uncivilized and pretty much all spill out of their one-bedroom townhouses in Parma long enough to offend everyone with the good sense to know better about these kinds of things.

I’ll lob you the cliche of “we’re not all like this” but I’m sure you knew that already. I’ve sat with Yankees fans, White Sox fans, Twins fans and Mets fans plenty of times–probably less than 2 sections from where you were sitting–and never had an issue, just some good-natured ribbing (see: Mets in town in ’02, I say to a Mets fan behind me, “Jesus Christ, did Mo Vaughn fucking EAT his ’95 MVP trophy??”).

J-Money, it seems that you and Texas got stuck in a little cross-section of hell that I like to call “A Section Full of Old Pieces of Shit from Parma.” Parma, by the way, is a Cleveland suburb that is universally looked down upon thanks to its neverending cycle of racism, ignorance and all-around white trashiness that is carried out by its youth and enabled by its elders… as I’m sure you witnessed. I wish you’d sat with some east-siders, you may have come away with a different opinion of my city.

But I digress. On behalf of passionate-yet-not-TOTAL-douchebag Cleveland fans everywhere, let me just say:

I’m actually not surprised by this as I had a strikingly similar experience in Cleveland this June. First off, let me clarify that I’m from Toledo, Ohio which is about 40 minutes south of Detroit and have grown up a Detroit sports fan my whole life. This is due to a lot of things (family, proximity, etc.) but also because I have always been disgusted at the douchebaggery that Ohio sports fans exhibit.

Anyways, it was the night of Game 7 of the Pistons/Cavs series and I was at the Tigers/Indians game at the Jake with some of my friends. We got 5th row tickets from my friends Uncle who has a business connection. I wasn’t treated that poorly at the Jake (mainly because there were Tigers fans everywhere, especially around us for some reason). Anyways, the Tigers won, we cheered, and hit the bars outside the stadium to catch the end of the Pistons game. Let me clarify that I love the Pistons more than life itself as my parents are former season ticket holders. However, knowing that I was walking into a trap I purposely decided to wear my colleges (Xavier University) shirt instead of anything Detroit related.

Well, I’m glad I did. While inside the “Clevelander” bar I witnessed some of the most absurd and childish behavior I have ever seen. While the Pistons proceeded to fall apart, the Cavs fans started to get unruly. This included pouring beer on anyone wearing Detroit apparel, spitting in their face, and starting fights. I must have witnessed 2 or 3 Pistons fans recieving unprovoked shoves or punches simply because they were wearing a Prince jersey. Great move guys, way to stay classy. I had someone yell in my face because he had enough brain cells to figure out that since I wasn’t going nuts when “C-town” made a shot that I must be a Detroit fan. I recieved a nice “FUCK DETROIT” and a shove. Thankfully, the large guy next to me who I had been talking to grabbed him and said that if he touched me or my lady friend again then he would have other problems to deal with. The highlight of the evening came when a cute blonde who must have been no bigger that 5’3 and 105 lbs walked by crying in a Pistons jersey and said that she just wanted people to stop spitting in her face.

um, no, no, and no. Red Sox fans pale in comparison to the traveling nightmare of Yankees fans. Worst yet, Cowboys fans (aaauuuugh, get me the eff out of here!). They didn’t get harassed, they got abused – idiot, there’s a HUGE difference you numbnutt. You want bad fans, go do Philly wearing a Patriots jersey or a Bruins jersey to a professional sporting event. What they went through in Cleveland was nothing compared to my experience in the City of “Brotherly Love”. Stick it in your arse.

Thanks to everyone for the support… as mentioned in the opening paragraph, we had a much better Game 4 experience.

Had we only attended Game 4, this article would never exist.

We just deserved better and so do the players on the field. The unfortunate individuals who taunted us should have been saluting the stellar play of a young, talented Indians team… guys who may treat women with more respect than their fans did on Monday night.

well let’s see, replace all references to cleveland with references to boston, and you have my experience at fenway in a nutshell. it’s the playoffs, what do you expect…a hug? no less, you obviously entered into the situation with preconceived notions regarding people from cleveland, and the midwest in general. we aren’t all suburbanites who shop at walmart and make racist comments. you encountered a few dumbasses, big surprise. get over it, move on. enjoy your offseason.

red sox nation is full of dumbasses, how is this a language you do not speak fluently?!

I’m sure the Cleveland fans surrounding you were as pleasant as the one Boston fan in our section who screamed “Sit the F*CK down. 1948. Eat it!” every time we cheered. Which is ridiculous in itself because if there is any fan base who should sympathize with another its the Red Sox towards the Indians.

Its not your fault you were ridiculed and as a member of the Indians fan base, I apologize. Those around you obviously crossed the line and that is never acceptable. But the Sox and its fan base have so completely destroyed their reputation since 2004 that there was no doubt in my mind going into the series that Tribe fans were going to be especially hostile towards Sox fans. Everyone fell in love with the Cinderella story, but then the Sox turned around and became everything they once hated, the Yankees. In addition to having the organization become a free-spending behemoth, the Sox fan base turned into a bunch of self-entitled, smug A-holes who think its their right to be in the WS (see Yankees fans). Never in my life have a been to a game where so many of the opposing teams fans belted out negative things towards a bunch of people they don’t know. With children around, no less. So before you ladies go and label an entire city by the dozen or so assholes sitting in your section, take a look around at the people associated with the logo you proudly wear on your shirt and ask yourself “Are we as a whole any better” Based on the two games I’ve seen so far, my answer is “absolutely not”

I am a Yankees fan and that’s really terrible. I sit around Red Sox fans at the Stadium all the time (unfortunately) but I never stoop to that. You need to act like you’ve been there before. I guess over a half-century of losing has them in overkill mode with the gloating. They’ll look pretty stupid if you guys end up taking it (which I hope you don’t). That said, I’ve heard some 1st person horror stories about friends wearing their Yankees hats to Fenway when they were playing there. It’s inexcusable anywhere.

I’m sorry, are people actually defending the fans who made racist comments and who assaulted women?
Seriously?
What the hell is wrong with you people?

I don’t give a rats ass if it happens elsewhere, that doesn’t make it right.

The Ladies rooted for their team. They didn’t act like asshats and boo the opposition or stand up and draw attention to themselves. They didn’t berate the fans near them as I have seen happen when visiting fans come to Shea (yes, I am a Mets fan). They cheered their players. In return, a group of fans acted like complete assholes by making racist comments, hitting them with towels, and then shoving them (the latter two being Assault and possibly Assault and Battery).

And for those who whine about how Cleveland is getting a bad rap based on a few fans, when Boston fans are equally bad based on your experience with a few Boston fans, you are using the same criteria. Doesn’t really help your defense.

I’m sorry for that section’s behavior around you. I could explain it as a pack mentality and i wouldn’t expect any less if i was sitting at a opposing team’s ballpark. I was at that very game(supporting the Indians of course) and was sitting up in the nosebleeds. There were more sox fans around us, we gave them some boos but didn’t degrade them. You guys should have sat up in a different section no matter how good those seats were. Regardless, these fans should have been civil to you. I don’t know what I would’ve done in that situation but I will never go to a game in Boston game wearing the opposing team’s gear. That said, please don’t take that section’s behavior as a representative of Cleveland and Ohio’s people.

After the game was over, i was ready to taunt some sox fans but the ones that sat around us were pretty good sports and said “good game” and I realized they didn’t deserve any more shit. The Indians are already providing Boston fans with some misery and that’s more than I could ever ask for. Go Tribe!!!

See, fans like to be able to go root for their team at their home park and have it FEEL like their home park. But between Stub Hub and the millions of bandwagon fans around the country, that has become just about impossible if your team happens to be playing the Yankees or Red Sox. I wouldn’t expect to go into Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park wearing Tribe colors and have a comfortable experience, and you shouldn’t have expected a comfortable experience in Cleveland. If you go into enemy territory and make a spectacle of yourself, you’re going to pay the price. That is the truth no matter where you go. Am I saying you can’t watch your team on the road? Of course not. I’ve done it before and had a fine time. But I was respectful to the other fans around me. I was not decked out in Tribe gear. I didn’t stand up and make a scene when my team did something good. It’s called RESPECT. If you don’t give it, don’t expect to receive it. You came out with your life and limbs intact, and that is about all you should expect. Everything else is more than deserved. If you want to watch the Red Sox in the playoffs and have a fun time, go to Boston.

The sad thing is: I was so very excited to go to Cleveland. Seriously. I had never been to the Jake, and had heard such wonderful things about the park, I was as giddy as a little kid on Christmas to get to go to a playoff game there. And I had always kind of had a soft spot for the Indians- like the A’s, I had kind of always liked to see them win (when they weren’t playing my team).

I’m impressed by the stupidity of some of these comments. Look, Cleveland fans, I don’t think anyone thinks you all shop at Wal-Mart; given what they endured, I think the writers are within their rights to crack a couple fairly harmless hick jokes. And sure, stuff like this happens all over the place, probably including at Fenway. Does that make it okay? Of course it doesn’t! The only way you’d have an argument on that front is if the Ladies were the people doing that at Fenway, but I don’t think anyone can or would make that case. And verbal abuse is one thing, but the physical assaults are just wholly inexcusable, and the fact that anyone is trying is insanely despicable. To resort to a hoary proverb, two wrongs don’t make a right.

ladies my apology as a clevelander that you witnessed such poor behavior and please dont let the behavior of some represent the rest of us.
but come on now, should any of this come as a shock to you? youre at a playoff sporting event wearing the opposing team’s colors and you’re shocked by the hostility? are you serious?
and while those “rice-k” comments are inexcusable, boston isnt exactly the pinnacle of tolerance and racial unity.
im not saying its right, but come on.

plasticman – i’d put eagles fans right up there with redsox fans and yankees fans a step below. there are shitty fans everywhere and redsox fans are pretty much the shittiest. so yeah its not cool but asshole boston douche bags brought this on themselves and their fellow undeserving fans.

Going to another team’s ballpark in the visitor’s colors and being a gracious guest is a welcome sight and vice versa. I enjoy the fun ribbing such as what you received in the bar prior to the game because deep down we’re all just fans of the game. I went to the series in San Diego in June in my O’s jersey (and we do suck) and the Pads fans couldn’t have been nicer or more gracious and the respect was mutual. Yes people get swept away with their teams and the playoffs can really charge up those emotions, but when people seem to base their entire identity and self-worth on their teams performance and believe they can behave disgustingly to others based on that association is completely irrational and ridiculous. I hate Dook and the Yanks but I respect that their fans love their teams just as much as I love mine and enjoy the rivalries. I’m sorry that you ladies had to endure such classless poor sportsmanship.

Sorry to hear about the tough time. Truth be told, Texas Gal, I also always had a soft spot for the Indians, and their fans, since I got got wrapped up in Jaret Wright and the 97 team. I actually still do, as the team and most fans I’ve come across are great. But still, that experience just really, really sucks.

There’s no doubt being whacked in the head or yelled at every five seconds isn’t particularly comforting by any means. There’s also no doubt this type of thing happens elsewhere. Nonetheless, this is certainly the type of thing security in every stadium around the country worry about. Unruly, possibly inebriated fans heckling opposing team’s fans to the point where there might need to be intervention.

I’m not a fan of the Red Sox (or the Tribe for that matter) at all and I’m openly rooting against them in this series for quite simple reasons…and something that wasn’t the case back in ’04, which I regret now not rooting against you guys then. Looking at it introspectively, your fans are the most arrogant, self-righteous, uppity, and generally condescending fanbase in the entire country. You’re now hated more than any other team in the entire major leagues…including the Yankees. A few years ago, people would have expected this treatment if say the Yankees were going into Jacobs Field…now it’s somehow a surprise to you you’re treated this way? Trust me, I’m not condoning this behavior but sooner or later the Red Sox organization must look at the past ten years and realize you’ve created an organization and a fanbase that closely mirrors the hated Yankees of a few years ago. Whatever visiting stadium the Sox play in, Sox “fans” come out of the woodwork and cheer for “their” team, whether they’ve been cheering for them since they were 5 years old or if they somehow, and more likely, jumped on the bandwagon since you guys won the World Series and started doing promotional stunts like a President of “Red Sox Nation,” which is about the lamest thing I could ever imagine.

I’m just saying, Sox fans need to start bucking the trend which has now snowballed to the extremes. If I were a Sox fan, I’d be embarrassed at the “nation” we’ve created…one in which people come to the stadium wearing a Coco Crisp jersey but who have no clue what position he plays.

The verbal harassment isn’t fun, but you do have to suck it up and expect some of that at a playoff game.

you can expect heckling, but when it includes obscenity, I think it goes past the line. The only similar experience i’ve ever had is when I went with my husband to the Yankees/Mariners Game 6 at Yankee Stadium. He was wearing a Mariners cap, and the only heckling we got was: “hey, honey, you should get a new boyfriend!”, told with a smile, and, when the Mariners lost, “honey, you better comfort the boyfriend!” No one threw stuff at us, or told us to stop cheering or called us any obscene names.

You two had the misfortune of stumbling on what we Pittsburghers have known since birth…Cleveland sucks. Good-natured teasing is one thing, but this was out and out abuse. I can’t believe that there are comments from people who are actually defending these actions. It’s awful and sickening.

Look, as an Ohioan and a Red Sox fan (I got it from my parents), I’m REALLY sorry for what happened. But many Ohioans, in my experience, are racists, especially those from the areas surrounding Cleveland and Cincinnati (Columbus, where I’m from, is surprisingly tame).

Booing the other team? Acceptable, if not encouraged. Verbally and physically bullying opposing fans? NEVER ACCEPTABLE.

its the playoffs, grow a pair or stay at home…you show up supporting the other team and expect people to leave you alone? i’ll cry for you tonight as i fall asleep in my brand new “2007 ALCS CHAMPION CLEVELAND INDIANS” tshirt

As a native Clevelander and a died-in-the-wool Tribe fan that has resided in SoCal for the last 13 years, it would do no good for me to apologize for these undignified asshats.

While San Diego and Southern California at large is mostly viewed as a laid-back group of surfing hippies, I’ve seen this same treatment when going up to Anaheim when the Tribe’s in town. I go with a buddy of mine that grew up there and, as such, is an Angels fan. We trash talk one another relentlessly, but in good-natured form. If another Angel fan is sitting nearby and isn’t aware that we’re friends, he’ll feel the need to get in on the discussion and defend his team, typically with violence if he deems it necessary. Add in a bucket or ten of beer, and it tends to get worse.

Please, oh please don’t paint all of Cleveland with such a broad brush. We’re not all like that. I’d like to think if I were nearby I would’ve called them out in their asshatted behavior and helped prevent it, all while wearing my Indians gear (no, not the red face paint. Different issue entirely).

At any rate, here’s to the continuation of a good series and some good baseball.

Don’t judge an entire fanbase based on a few isolated fans, especially in a charged atmosphere such as the Jake on that night. If so, I think I should have a right to judge based on the group of drunk 20something Sox fans I saw spewing forth venom at an older couple at Camden Yards during a Sox-O’s tilt earlier this year. Or just about any Phillies fan at Citizens Bank Park in the right field 300 level.

Idiots are everywhere. To expect that Indians fans wouldn’t get treated just as badly in Fenway would be. For that matter, ask just about any Yankees fan who’s been up there – or Sox fan who’s been to the Stadium – and I’m sure you’ll come up with plenty of similar experiences. In no way is that sort of treatment justified – but if you expect that people are going to act decent in situations and places like that you’ll definitely come away disappointed.

So sorry that it became physical. Sadly, or not, this reminds me of when I was at Fenway for business this year during the interleague play…Wore my Rockies cap and cheered on as we beat the red sox (a beckett loss, atkins had a grand slam). This was a regular season game and my wife and I were ridiculed the entire game, no matter the score. The racist and innane comments out of these mouths were incredible…It’s hard for me to have sympathy with name calling by any red sox fan and any time I can dish it out to a stockings fan, I will. Hopefully we don’t see you next weekend.

Oh, I remember back in the days where the Indians games were the Ultimate Bandwagon Experience (mid 90’s) and went with a friend of mine, a lifelong Indians fan who actually kinda missed Cleveland Stadium because tickets were easy to get for good seats and they were cheap. We sat out in the temporary bleachers (they added temp seats because they were selling out every game). I, of course, am a White Sox fan, and during the game whenever I cheered I had stuff thrown at me, and was regularly punched in the back of the head and had my ponytail pulled (yeah, I had long hair back then).

Did I mention the people who were punching me, yanking my hair, and were the most vulgar people around were women? They all outweighed me (and I’m about 200). And this was a freaking regular season game that wasn’t even in a close pennant race.

I actually yelled at a White Sox fan in the 2005 ALCS for yelling racist stuff. It was embarrassing to all of us, especially since there were kids around.

a friend who is a photographer is of the opinion that you can post the photo because it was a public event. The ticket generally states on the back that your likeness can be used. The ticket generally covers the “club” but it can pertain to “media” use as well. It’s how those two chooches in chief wahoo paint ended up on the AP wire and all over the net. But you’re pretty safe because of the public event. It’s not like you took the photo of the guy in his house trailer.

Too bad this had to happen to the two of you, but the generalizations about Ohio are simply not fair. However, after living in NEO my entire life, I’m used to basically being dumped on by the rest of the country. “Everyone west of the Allegheny Mts. is a model…” right? Do what you have to if it makes you feel better, but remember: This type of thing isn’t restricted to professional sporting events in Ohio.

So many “you deserved it because you cheered for the visiting team” responses here.

What about that makes the behavior right? So because Red Sox fans are jackasses to opposing fans in Fenway, that makes it right to physically attack them when they come to your stadium?

The logic train left the fucking station on that one years ago.

Fan is derived from “fanatic,” but no excusing what happened here. No one should get harassed for cheering for a team, home or visitor, in a stadium or arena. No one should have to “expect” it to happen. Period. End of discussion.

This is nothing, I don’t even know why you’re complaining. Try going to an Argentinian soccer game. People get killed. This is all a bunch of pathetic insults and hurt feelings. Be real fans. Throw shit at people, punch ’em, kick ’em, scream some actual insults a centimeter from their face, so that when you finally back away, they’re spit covered and are coughing from the nasty smell of your breath. Let off some flares so that everyone in the stadium, including the players, get teary eyed from the colored smoke and that they have to stop play briefly because no one can see through the huge fog that was just created. Now those are fans.

And you’re forgetting that this is an American sport. There will be a section where the hicks congregate. When you’re at an away game, get the most expensive tickets you can, so you’ll be nearer to civilized human beings who will just cheer for their team and leave you alone. I also don’t understand where Boston fans get off criticizing the Ohio accent when theirs is significantly more humorous and easy to make fun of.

Classifying that everyone in Cleveland are like the fans you encountered and posting Cleveland’s steretypes shows some ignorance on your part. Unfortunately, you had a bad experience (and I feel bad) but not everyone in this city hangs out at walmart, sports a mullet, is vulgar and abusive.

This happens in every city, in every sport, in every stadium around the country and the world.

People need to know, bad things can happen when there is a heated series, rivalry or game. I don’t support what happened, but as a fan traveling and rooting for the visiting team you have to expect some of these occurrences to some degree.

Ah, yes, Major Lol breaks out the old “Why can’t American sports be more like South American soccer argument”. That’s a tough one to beat. I suppose you advocate killing judges as well as players who accidentally mis-play balls? You’d give Buckner something to cry about, eh?

I think the point that you mouth-breathers is missing, is that no one should be treated like they were. Not at a game, not at a bar, and not in a comment thread on the internet. Your use of terms like “fat”, “dyke”, and “bitch” don’t insult those you direct them at, but rather those who are (through no fault of their own) related to you. Even mouth-breathers, like you, come out of a womb at one time. Whether your momma wanted you or not (if she did then, she certainly regrets that decision now) isn’t the point. The point is, your rudimentary verbal attack skills got you where you are right now, which is flailing about, poorly, at a group of women that outclass you so badly that you shouldn’t have the right to look at them, let alone speak to them in such a disgusting fashion. It’s not these Ladies… you hate, it’s yourselves. I’m not judging you for that, I mean, I’ve only just met you and I hate you, so I can’t imagine what it must be like to live your life. All I’m saying is, go back to fleshbot or your part-time job cleaning tables at the mall, I don’t care. Just leave these Ladies… alone.
Go on, git.

Seems hypocritical for Boston sports fans to criticize Cleveland fans for being racist, considering the fact that there have been reports of black basketball players not wanting to play for the Celtics. But, then again, most Red Sox fans have probably never been to Boston.

If you don’t want to get harassed at an Indians game in Cleveland, don’t be obnoxious. It’s not that difficult.

Why is it that so many of these comments seem to be missing the point?

Yes, if you go to a sporting event in “enemy colors”, you should expect to be heckled…perhaps even obscenely. I’ve been there, it’s happened to me, and yes it sucked at the time.

But physical violence such as being shoved or hit by bottles? The fact that some commenters are claiming this is ok…I’m appalled. Not at a city or a fan group, but at individual persons who think that violence is acceptable over a BASEBALL GAME.

What planet are you people from, when you don’t understand why this is fundamentally wrong???? That’s just sad.

“Like the mfy fan said earlier, verbal banter is cool, but if you get physical, you better assume the stance because you’re about to get an ass whipping.”

BB, or whatever the hell your name is, if you label a fanbase as Mother F***in Yankees (mfy), I really don’t think your douschebag opinion matters. You’re obviously one of the moronic sox fans everyone here is trying to enlighten the girls to. You are the same as the “low lifes” you think you’re better than.

Also, if you ever called me a “mfy” to my face, you’d be shitting every piece of sox memorabilia you had in your possession for a month. Thats how far I’d shove them up your ass.

I think we can agree that a playoff crowd is not indicative of a fanbase. The tickets are so expensive, the only people that can afford them are the upper-class, fat, white people. Get a few beers in them, and it turns ugly.

My parents used to be season ticket holders for the Indians, so I’ve been to a couple hundred games. And the people I interacted with are not the ones you women found… they were quite the opposite. When Atlanta was in the World Series, their fans were basically left alone. Maybe something has changed in the last 12 years.

Or maybe you were just really unlucky that night. The beginning of this entry demonstrates not everyone is like Laughing Guy.

And seriously, stop ripping the entire state for the actions of a couple dozen misguided Indians fans. To be nice, that’s an ignorant thing to do.

And on a final note, why in the world did you sit there and take it? Get an usher. Get a policeman. Honestly, that was kind of dumb to do nothing. You’re just being enablers at that point. You don’t owe them anything, and it owe it to yourselves to feel safe.

TTF, probably because things would’ve gotten worse for them if they had gotten an usher. No way security would remove the entire section and those who weren’t angry before could’ve gotten that way if two “enemy fans” had any of the Tribe Faithful booted.

I’ve witnessed that at a Virginia Tech away game, when one well-meaning Hokie fan tried to put an end to the comments being shouted at him. One guy left, sure, but 15 others coated him with nachos, beer, and enough hatred to last the rest of his life.

What? Fans of the visiting team get harrassed? In the playoffs?!? A shocking revelation!

Cleveland is a championship-starved city that is going up against the big, bad juggernaught (according to ESPN!) that is widely regarded as having one of the most annoying fan bases in sports. While these fans’ behavior should not be tolerated, I hardly think it is surprising. Every team has its jerk fans. Not to mention, this very same behavior is commonplace in NFL stadiums.

I don’t codone their horrible behavior for one second, but Cleveland is not all bad. It’s a beautiful city and aside from these morons, has wonderfully nice citizens.

As for Cincy and Cleveland being racist? We are no more racist then any other major city. This experience sucked for you but don’t paint us all as being this way or else you just douche-bagged yourself by painting entire cities and people on the 20 or so that you had the (unfortuate)contact with.

I’m really sorry about your experience. My wife and I were at the same game (and will be there tonight) and it was quite a bit different where we sat. We had two women who were Sox fans in our row who weren’t treated harshly at all. The only time Sox fans were shouted down was when a group of them in the right field bleachers tried to do Sox chants; the Indian fans simply chanted over them with a pro-Indians chant.

As we were leaving the game, I talked to the two women. I said, “They weren’t to tough on you were they?” She laughed and said, “No, we’ve been to a lot of stadiums and this wasn’t any worse than anywhere else.” We talked all the way to the ramp, with both of us agreeing that whoever won the ALCS better kick the crap out of the Rockies.

Again, sorry the BS you had to go through, but please don’t hold this experience against Cleveland or even Indian fans, most of them (us) aren’t like that.

“TTF, probably because things would’ve gotten worse for them if they had gotten an usher. No way security would remove the entire section and those who weren’t angry before could’ve gotten that way if two “enemy fans” had any of the Tribe Faithful booted.”

Worse than assault? I hate to think of what you have in mind.

TheYoungNucleus: “But many Ohioans, in my experience, are racists, especially those from the areas surrounding Cleveland and Cincinnati”

I didn’t read to the bottom of your post, because it makes me sad and embarrassed to be from Cleveland. I love the Indians, but I rarely go to games anymore because of the A-holes that pretend to be fans but are merely looking for excuses to get shitfaced and cause grief. I will NEVER go to another opening day game because those bring out all the worst missing chromosome pieces of shit to the ballpark, all of whom (the ones with jobs anyway) called in sick to be there, so they treat it like its their right to be as belligerent as possible. They are scum, and it makes no difference what team’s gear you’re wearing. I can’t imagine taking my kids there for that. Luckily, games during the middle of the season are much more family friendly, I’ve never had a problem at those.

I just wanted you to know that we Indians fans aren’t all like that, and I for one am sorry you were treated so badly. Dick move on our part to be sure. I’m absolutely certain that yours isn’t the only story like this, and that’s really shitty.

That’s nothing. You should’ve seen my experience in Anaheim for the ALDS. Angels fans are worse: not only are they just as trashy, but they’re also complete morons:

– “Drew, you can’t catch for sh*t,” yelled to JD Drew. Um, I think his hitting is a bit more of a problem.
– “The only thing Boston is known for is chowder, sauerkraut, and sucking dick!” Wow, that huge German population in Boston is really catching on.
– “Manny, you’re old!” This was shouted in a game where Curt Schilling was pitching.

I could go on and on, but I can sum it up by saying that I proudly took a picture of me flipping off the giant “A” outside the stadium after the game.

“We’ve all been embarrassed by what our own fandoms have done over the years.”

Truth. That’s why I’m looking forward to the college basketball season, in which the student crowds are respectable, witty, and classy. Dare I say urbane? But they would never take the cheap shot. EVer.

I’m suspicious that anyone really believes the hate that’s being spouted off here by the guys hunting & pecking away frantically at their local library. I doubt that they’re even from Cleveland. However, if they really do believe what they say, and if there’s some goofy bastard out there, (slowly) reading along and nodding their misshapen head to this, I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out how pathetic they are. More pathetic than the actual losers at the game even. You know what’s so pathetic about these guys (see: cock, brown, or Guy, Cleveland)? They aren’t even the ones who were at the game making the attacks. They couldn’t even scrape together the cash to go to a game. They’re more pathetic. They aspire to be that guy. These guys don’t throw bottles, they pick them up on the side of the road so they have enough money for cheap smokes at the bingo parlor. They aren’t men. They’re barely human. I’m ashamed to share a gene pool with them.
OK, I’m done now.

Holy fuck there’s been a lot of people commenting. I kind of feel like most of them are rehashing the same stuff: those who sympathize (good), Indians fans/Clevelanders who are hanging their head in shame (a subset under the previous category), and the idiots who are trying to make excuses (bad).

Look…I know there are some asshole Indians fans. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. I’ve also – in the last week – seen a Red Sox fan tell a Tribe fan to “suck his fucking dick” right in front of the guy’s son…and all the guy was doing was cheering on the Tribe.

The moral of the story? here are certainly low-lifes that cheer for the Tribe…and there’s just as many that root for the Sox. This blog/article/whine-festival makes it out to be like all Clevelanders are asses and all Red Sox fans are angels. And I’m willing to bet money that on this night, you did your fair share of baiting the Cleveland fans.

The good news? You’ll be able to avoid seeing the Tribe after tonight…well, unless you watch them on Fox next week.

“I’m willing to bet money that on this night, you did your fair share of baiting the Cleveland fans.” -Steve

Baiting them how? By not also acting like a classless, backwards, pathetic excuse for a person? They were somehow “asking for it” by being something other than Indians fans? Oh please. I thought we got rid of the “they were asking for it” argument, like, 150 comments ago.

Sorry to hear about your lousy experience. My wife and I have a similar experience from about ten years ago that caused us to resolve to never again attend a road playoff game in any pro sport.

We attended Game 4 of the ’98 NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Bulls and Pacers at Market Square Arena in Indy. This was the game where Reggie Miller hit a last-second shot to even the series after nearly getting into a brawl with the Bulls’ bench a minute earlier. We didn’t deck ourselves out in Bulls gear — my wife wore a black baseball cap with a small Bulls logo, that’s it — and since we got our tickets from a relative who was a Pacers employee at the time, we restricted our cheering to golf claps.

Despite all that, we were still told to “go the f*ck back to Chicago with all the gang-bangers,” told to “shut the f*ck up” even when we weren’t cheering, and pelted with ice cubes from people sitting behind us. The only reason we didn’t leave early is that we didn’t want to give the a-holes the satisfaction, and the fact that the folks sitting directly behind us were extremely nice and attempted to identify the offenders for us (to no avail, thanks to MSA’s useless ushers).

Once Reggie hit his shot, however, all bets were off. Garbage, debris, a half-eaten hot dog, a half-full beer and a game program all came flying at us. After being restrained by our nice neighbors from climbing up to confront one of the object-throwers who followed up his toss by calling my wife the c-word (“don’t get yourself arrested because of that jerk,” he wisely counseled as he blocked me from heading up the aisle), we ended up making sure we were at the arena’s exits before the Bulls broke their timeout huddle to attempt their last-second desperation shot.

I love rooting for my team, but it simply isn’t worth dealing with that sort of crap.

Oh, an aside for Texas Gal: is Lakeview really “the Midwest?” (One of the reasons we’ve lived here for so long is that it doesn’t seem like it…)

gimme a break – you had an encounter with some drunk obnoxious fans, and therefore the whole city of cleveland must suck. that sounds fair to me. besides, i’m sure that NEVER happens at fenway. for god’s sake, some guy almost got killed at a bruins game a couple of years ago simply because he was rooting for the wrong team.

They didn’t say anything about Red Sox fans or Yankee fans, they said they were attacked and assaulted by people at Jacobs Field because they were wearing Boston gear. For you to suggest they are overreacting is ludicrous. You know what, Teddy? I was once insulted by a man who didn’t use punctuation and grammar, so by your reasoning, I should attack you.
Do you even understand that?
Let me make it simpler, you are a loser and your mom hates you more than your ex-girlfriend.

I am from Goffstown New Hampshire and one of the biggest Red Sox fans around!!! Me and my brother made the trip to Cleveland to root our team on for games 3 and 4!! I must agree the fans were ASSHOLES more so in game 3 than 4!! My brother and I were having a late lunch @ the Hard Rock Cafe in Cleveland late Tuesday afternoon and this woman was sitting across from us and she had asked “Did you guys go to the game the last night?”we replied “yes we did”she then went on to explain her experience at Monday’s game and we went on to tell her that we had a similar experience in a different section of the park we were in section 183 (left field bleachers) which leads me to believe it was more than a few fans acting like this throughout the park!!! If you are a true sports fan and need lessons on how to act or treat other people (win or lose) move to Boston!! Sure we have a few idiots up here as with any city,but nothing like I witnessed in Cleveland on Monday!!! SHAME ON CLEVELAND!! Game 4 was a little better not much though, it was after the game I witnessed the worst act from a winning teams fan I had ever seen,we were walking to our car and there were a couple of homeless people sleeping on cardboard on a sidewalk when I saw a Cleveland fan walk up and kicked him and said”wake up you stupid fuck we won!!” CLEVELAND ROCKS?????? From what I saw in my first visit ever I have to say “CLEVELAND SUCKS”!!!
By the way the woman that we had talked to @ the Hard Rock Cafe Tuesday afternoon was the woman who wrote this article!!
CLEVELAND LEARN HOW TO WIN!!! Peace to all!!

I think we’ve all had terrible experiences in opposing cities. In my case, I was kicked and had food dumped on me as a reporter at an Indiana basketball game. It sucks that it happened, and I’ll apologize on the behalf of the better half of the Cleveland fanbase.

Frankly, though, I think you’d see a lot fewer of these asshats defending the fans if you had just said “Hey, our evening at the Jake sucked. Here’s what happened…” Instead, if you remove the actual events from this story, you have what amounts to a juvenile, cliched 500-word attack on my city. Haha, Cleveland smells bad. Haha, Clevelanders shop at Wal-Mart. Haha, Cleveland loves its Bob Evans (what?). There’s even a bizarre attack on lesbians in there. I expect better from the Ladies.

Also, it’s worth pointing out that several parts of this spiel are clearly exaggerated to make a good story. I’m sure the one guy didn’t yell “Hit it to Palookaville” at every at-bat; someone would literally have to be mentally challenged to do that for nine innings, and if that’s the case, shame on you for making fun of him. Anyone that watched the game knows that Cleveland fans were more interested in cheering their team than mocking Boston; the author plainly heard one or two “Boston sucks!” among the cheers after Kenny’s homer, and decided to make a strange generalization. I mean, think about it — who could possibly react to a home run by the team’s most beloved player by shouting “Boston sucks!”? It doesn’t even make sense.

The kicker, though, is when she gets hit by the bottle. The Jake, of course, doesn’t sell beer in bottles; it comes in cups, like any real stadium. All they sell in bottles is Pepsi with the cap taken off. Given that fact (and that neither of the girls are in the hospital), it seems likely that she was hit by an empty plastic 20-oz. Pepsi bottle, probably lobbed from five feet away. Hardly a naked act of aggression.

The fact that Gordonshumway played that event up so much (by leaving out those key details) kinda makes me wonder how much of the rest of this story is missing important tidbits. Hm.

Look, I’m sorry you had a lousy experience at the Jake (though I wonder if this story would have been posted if the Red Sox had won). I love bantering with opposing fans, and I’m sure I would have had a great time sitting with you at the game.

But if we were at a game in person together, and you said half of the asshole things about my city (and me, by association) that you did in this post, I would be justifiably furious. Maybe I’d go home and write a snide blog post about it.

That’s nothing. me and my girlfriends were at a Fenway for the last game there, sporting our Indians gear, and we suffered way worse. One jerk yelled “Travis Hafner has super AIDS!” right in my face. Another guy chopped my friend’s arm off.

welcome to the club sisters. we both had to learn the hard way… baseball stadiums are NO place for ladies…

I love talking trash to fans of the other team in Oakland. It hightens my enjoyment of the games I attend. Ususally it quickly becomes a playful exchange with each party taking pot shots at the team for which the other is rooting. It has not once turned into a personal attack on the individual….ever. Basically because I follow four simple rules:

1. Racial slurs are not OK. Ever.
2. Cursing should’ve stopped as soon as you got off the school bus.
3. Keep it playful and light.
4. Take it easier on the lady folk.

It appears the folks in Cleveland know not of these basic rules of courtesy and respect…

You know, I’d have some compasion for you if Red Sox fans weren’t such assholes themselves. Like this stuff doesn’t happen in Boston….PLEASE. The majority of people at the Jake are respectful. Don’t lump everyone in the same boat. Plus, if you didn’t expect to hear it in general for wearing the opposing teams colors you were kidding yourself.

Have you guys seen GordonShumway? She is fucking hot.
I’ve never seen Texas Gal but I’ve heard her talk and it’s hotter than shit.
This has nothing to do with the assholes in Cleveland but I just wanted to say that the Ladies… are not only good writers and great fans, but they’re hot as hell.

Y’all may want to check out our previous post title before you start flinging half-literate accusations. I don’t recall anyone saying “This NEVER happens at Fenway!” Assholes are everywhere. This is the story of just a few of them.

sorry you had to put up with a game like that. i mean, i hate the yankees and red sox, but not nearly as much as i love the tribe. if they’re rooting against the sox more than they’re rooting for the indians, it’s a problem. and you do have the right to enjoy the game, but apparently your section didn’t think so.

it’s not that surprising though, cause our fan base is overrated. sure, we sold out well over 400 games in the late 90s, but it was a perfect storm of a new ballpark, a ridiculous team, and no Browns. attendance was 22,000 when i was at the triple play game in late august… that’s not even half capacity.

i generally like to think Ohio’s full of good people and fans, but sometimes it’s just not the case.

Game 4 was a little better not much though, it was after the game I witnessed the worst act from a winning teams fan I had ever seen,we were walking to our car and there were a couple of homeless people sleeping on cardboard on a sidewalk when I saw a Cleveland fan walk up and kicked him and said”wake up you stupid fuck we won!!”

This is a fun meme! Let’s all make up terrible things that Cleveland fans do!

I once saw a Cleveland fan sodomize a cat in front of his six-year-old daughter, shouting “Why aren’t you cheering you fucking cat! We won!” Of course, that was nothing compared to the time I saw a pile of Cleveland fans bathing naked in sheep’s blood in the middle of the street after a Cleveland Lumberjacks game.

This sounds kinda like an A’s-Red Sox game I went once to. It was Game 1 of the 2003 ALDS, and I was told that my team sucked ass, got my share of the middle finger, and had the whole “yelling and shouting all sorts of crap in my face” deal happen too.

Only I was an A’s fan……in Oakland. (And I was 15.)

I’m sorry that this happened to you, but understand that fans everywhere are tired of Red Sox fans invading their home stadium and being obnoxious assholes.

I’m not defending what these jackasses did (quite frankly, it’s very obviously indefensible), but you have to understand there’s a lot of frustration on behalf of small market fans around the league that have their park invaded by a lot of obnoxious Saaawwks fans every time Boston roles into town. Unless you’re going to a game with a bigger group of Red Sox fans or your own obnoxious Saaawwwks male friend, you’re going to run into the backlask. That’s just the reality.

“Y’all may want to check out our previous post title before you start flinging half-literate accusations. I don’t recall anyone saying “This NEVER happens at Fenway!” Assholes are everywhere. This is the story of just a few of them.”

Then why hurl a bunch of insults at Cleveland? If you actually knew anything about the people who live in this city you’d know most of us aren’t just going to sit idly by and let you get away with it.

Look, I’m not saying that this couldn’t have happened in any other city. I have been to a number of other games as an away fan–including the ’04 World Series–so I know what to expect and what’s reasonable.

I don’t expect everyone to love the Red Sox–the number of people who don’t appear to grow every day–and the anti-Boston sentiments don’t phase me. It’s when they become personal attacks and physical attacks that I draw the line. So you hate the Red Sox. Fine. Neither Texas Gal nor I play for them, so please don’t go after us.

I am sorry that you were treated like that at the Jake. It truly is a great place to watch a game. I have always managed to get along with visiting fans, have a beverage, etc….unless they are the arrogant type who come in with a false sense of entitlement. I doubt you had that mindset or displayed it, but there are some fans during the regular season who come in acting like they own the place and give the “what did I do?” look after acting like a jerk. It is very true- Both the Red Sox and their fans have turned into the Evil Empire that they so hate (and espn shoves down our throats). Bill Simmons, who is getting close to the level of Woody Paige, Skip Bayless, Jay Mariotti, and any Sports Reporter post-Dick Schaap’s passing, has violated his own rules of fandom by having more ‘whine’ than Northern California. Fan assault (even in NASCAR) isn’t warranted…

As a life-long Tribe fan, I am truly sorry that you were treated by those assholes like that.
I also hate seeing those douche bags wearing the head dresses. I’ve been to many games in the Jake, and have come across plenty of classless Tribe fans also (I’ve had to move seats).
Boston fans have theirs too. This has been my experience this week, and at previous games, etc.
– I have a Go Indians towel in the back seat of my car. It’s obvious that I do not support the home town team, so everyone around feels the need to bring that to my attention. I’ve been flicked off and cussed at oh, about eight times now while driving to and from work, and while walking around town (one time while holding my 18 month old daughter when some dick saw fit to yell “Fuck the Tribe”).
– I had beer thrown on me while watching the Tribe-Sox at Fenway in the bleachers.
– I’ve had golf balls thrown at me while playing golf with my Yankee fan brother-in-law.
– I’ve been threatened at 2 games, shoved, and told to leave bars while there with friends who are red sox fans.

Classless fans are everywhere, and Boston is no exception.
That aside, I have a great job, but I must say that Northeast Ohio is a MUCH better place to live based on one’s options for housing alone. I notice how everyone trashes Cleveland, but I wish I could go back. I think Northeast Ohioans are tired of people who have NO IDEA what it’s like to live there, trashing their town and throwing cliché expressions around that came about in the 60’s (mistake on the lake). Experience it for more than a baseball game before you make blind judgment.
I won’t make excuses for those dicks that treated you that way at either game, that’s just wrong. Again, I’m sorry.

Oh and also…GO TRIBE. Here’s to you FOX for getting the lowest ranked WORLD SERIES ever. We all feel really really bad for you and you’re inability to use the “Shipping up to Boston” and “Sweet Caroline” drops for the next 2 weeks.

Because this would’ve NEVER happened at Fenway park. Oh no. Those fans are too classy to ever say anything. Not like the bleachers at Wrigley Field, Dodger Stadium, or Yankee Stadium. They’ll lay down a carpet of rose petals for you to walk on much like the stands at The Jake.

Nice way to judge and insult an entire city because of a few drunk losers. They’re everywhere. Hating groups of people based on the actions of a few is one of the biggest problem of this world. Saying things like “F this city” only cause people to react to your statement, and in return hate you and your city. It’s an endless cycle. Yes, you’re frustrated, and yes, some losers heckled you. But don’t judge everyone by the actions of a few.

And for what it’s worth, they interviewed some Red Sox fans at the game the other night and they said the reaction they got was nothing compared to New York. So it’s the luck of the draw.

Wow. Some people really need to get a life (& perhaps an education). Just want to go on the record as an Ohioan (near Cincy) to say that what happened to you guys was inexcusable under any circumstances.

Love all of you. Keep up the good work!!! (And please keep the hotties coming!)

As a kid from NE Ohio who grew up as a Steelers fan (I’m a Tribe and Pirates supporter, different leagues so I can rationalize it), I can say I’m surprised and not surprised by the fan’s reaction to you. However, this is no excuse for the Cleveland fans’ abuse. I’m not surprised because many of my friends are Browns fans and we rib each other pretty well. I’m surprised that Tribe fans would do that to complete strangers.

I went to the AFC Championship game in 2005 when the Steelers played Denver. I was a Pittsburgh fan in enemy territory, and I can say the Denver fans were friendly, respectful, and overall, very cool in a game that had equally high stakes as the one you guys attended. The Steelers crushed the Broncos, and the Denver fans congratulated me, my dad and my sister, and told us to go win it for the AFC. That took a lot. Ever since that game, I hoped I would be able to be just as accommodating in a similar situation. It saddens me that the team I support had fans that gave you such a negative experience.

Sorry on my behalf. You shouldn’t be jeered just because you root for a different team. After all, it’s just a damn game.

Those black players you speak of not wanting to play for the Celtic have been here for awhile. As soon as Garnett got his money he agreed to the trade so maybe it wasn’t race as much as it was him being a money grubbing asshole.

As for Cleveland fans I don’t think you met any at your games. I know for a fact that only a few months ago the entire stadium was filled with Red Sox fans chanting for their team and CC Sabathia whined about how he was annoyed he heard Yooooouuuk in the stands. So the people filling up the stands during the playoffs are anything but fans because fans show up when their team isn’t in the playoffs and you so called morons at Indians games now were NOT there a few months ago.

Racist adult men hitting women being defended by anyone shows the lack of integrity you have. I have sat near a million different fans IN Fenway and no one has been treated like this. I have even sat near an obnoxious College guy screaming for the Yankees a month or so ago. The game Papelbon blew a 7-2 lead and we were in the bleachers. My friends were at Yankee stadium and weren’t treated that way either.

I am fine with the name calling because that happens everywhere but to defend someone being assaulted.? Wow

It seems that this type of unacceptable behavior is on the upswing in all cities. Instead of telling people to expect it, shouldn’t we be encouraging people not to tolerate it. I would hope that you ladies let the Cleveland organization know how you were treated as a customer in their facility. I’m not sure why fans feel personally insulted when fans of an opposing team enter “their house,” but violent reaction to it seems to be increasing. You have to be an absolute reject to physically assault someone for rooting for their team, how is that ever justified? I really think MLB needs to encourage franchises to be more aware of this type of behavior and have zero tolerance of it. The home town fans should be escorted out immediately if they are violent or verbally abusive. If these fans felt the threat of possibly losing their season tickets they may think twice before acting the fool. The stadium security should not continue to enable this type of asinine behavior.

So many men so frightened of so many smart women who won’t put up with shit. It is astounding to me that it is 2007.

I love seeing visiting fans at Shea. We have gone to other parks, too, and had ushers helping us out, quietly upgrading our seats, asking us questions about the players on the team, and fans of the home team also doing likewise.

I expect fans to cheer their team. And even if they were loud and obnoxious, THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR ANY KIND OF VIOLENCE WHATSOEVER. END. THERE IS NO EXCUSE. NONE. NOT THE PLAYOFFS, NOT THE WEATHER, NOT SOME STORY YOU HEARD SECOND-HAND ABOUT STADIUM X, NOT THE FACT THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO FIND A GIRLFRIEND WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT THE INFIELD FLY RULE.

Read your comments and realize you are being just as judgemental and completely classless as this group of fans was. Cleveland Sucks? so a couple of rowdy fans call some guy names and he publishes it and as quickly as you can read the article you judge the 14th biggest metro area with the second biggest performing arts district (largest other than broadway) and the most recorded orchestra in the world as a total dump. The 8th largest downtown workforce population and a rich cultural history is no part of your judgement?

I am sorry people, but you really freaked out and got pissed about one guys experience.

On behalf of my city, I would of course apologize to this guy. This is not the way anyone would want to be treated. However, please understand…

This could happen anywhere.

and you jackasses who talk sh*t about ohio and everything… grow the fuck up. Its one thing to be an asshole to fans at a game (dumb).. but talking shit on the internet simply calling where people live a dump? Classless.

I agree with the sentiments of the REAL Cleveland fans who say that it is not a typical experiance that you had at the Jake the other night. I can tell what type of fans you were dealing with and they probably haven’t been to the Jake since 2001. It sucks that you were harassed like that and there is not enough apoligizing that can be done for that (manure) you put up with.

However, I agree that you did take it out on the overall city a tad too harsh. I wish you would of emphasised the better experiences of Cleveland and the Game #4 experience. I know Game #3 hung over the rest of your trip like a black cloud but I’ve lived here 30 of the 33 years I’ve walked the earth and it matches any city in the country I’ve been to. I understand you only get 1 chance to make a 1st impression but what we are trying to say is that impression was WRONG due to a few A-Clowns. If you never come back (like you said), I honestly can’t blame you (even if the Jake has 10,000 RSN members at each of the 4 regular season games in Cleveland this year, so it would be a MUCH friendlier atmosphere).

Right, because starting “Yankees Suck” chants during meaningless June and July games versus Tampa Bay screams class. I must’ve missed the memo where Boston became the epitome of progressive racial relations in the United States.

Nice try.

Oh and thanks for leaving, Cleveland doesnt want you anyway. Enjoy when Peyton Manning or Mike Tomlin ends your football season and the Celtics finish 6th in the lEastern Conference.

Cleveland does the Yankees sucks chants. In fact they did it all the time during the last series and youtube used to have it up on their site from during the year so please spare me the “I am better then you” routine because your fans do it all the time.

It’s not as much of a red state as it appears. Say, for instance, where I live in GA! At least Ohio is a swing state!

And I love the descent into puerile attacks. We should really try to be a bit more cynical at times. I make fun of my fanbase and state 95% of the time. Hell, we welcome opposing teams fans, you can even bring 25,000 of your friends and we might have a sold out game in the summer. (As I grind my teeth at my loathing of an apathetic Braves fan base)

I’m a Sox fan, my girlfriend’s an Indians fan. In late May/Early June, we went to the Sox/Indians series at Fenway. Not one person made a single comment to my girlfriend through the entire night, and this was when Matsuzaka was getting killed and Byrd was shutting us down. We were sitting near a Bartman-looking guy in a Sizemore jersey who was quietly keeping score, and no one said a word to him.

During the Giants series when obnoxious SF fans were cheering every strike from Zito (given, there weren’t many), even then I didn’t see anything rude like this. Sox/Yanks didn’t even have anything on this level when I was there.

Way to go Cleveland. This post has made me switch from “i’ll root for the Indians if they win because of my girlfriend” to not really being sure.

seriously tho, when i wore my pink cowboys jersey to an eagles game, some guy called me a dyke! harassing ladies is NOT COOL buddy. then some guy threw some nacho cheese on me. that’s ASSAULT, brother!

I will never go to philadelphia again, i am, just like the rest of my ladies… 2 HOT for them 2 HANDLE. ROWR!

Sean-O: Were you in the RF Bleachers? I made the trip from SF for the series and had a BLAST! Game On was rockin all 5 days we were there, and the Boston fans were better than we could have asked.

The worst part is that you girls weren’t allowed to root FOR your team.

When the Sox played in SF a couple years ago, we experienced the Sox Fan Takeover, like most cities they visit, and what I was surprised by, and pissed off about, was that the fans weren’t rooting FOR the Sox, they were making nasty comments and being smug AGAINST the Giants.

There should be an established etiquette, even among fans who are drunk, that a visiting fan is to be left alone when saying positive things about their team, but opens themselves up to be razzed if the start disparraging the home team.

As a visiting fan in Boston to watch the Giants, I was decked out in Giants gear from head to toe, and met some amazingly nice people (the kid that stuck his out of a school bus to yell “Barry sucks!” with an evil scowl was surprising, such hatred at such a young age), and some were lame, but not “Sox fans on the internet” lame. One guy yelled at our Giants section to go “back to SF”, so I stood up, turned around and yelled back that we weren’t going anywhere, we would be there the whole weekend buying our tickets and spending money in your bars and restaurants. I was not messed with again.

Too bad, and I am surprised to say, Cleveland fans have less perspective than notoriously reputed Sox cranks.

a few years back a friend and myself drove from Boston to Cleveland for a three day punk and indie rock music fest. Our first night there, we spent eight hours in a club ankle deep in beer that was constantly being tossed around by other patrons there. At no less than three points during the night, people lit off fireworks INSIDE the building. The capper was one of the guitarists for a truly awful grindcore band catapulting his guitar INTO the crowd and hitting his friend in the forehead with it, spilling the guy’s blood everywhere.

Mets fans are the worst fans actually. Not for their boorish behavior but for their stupid reasoning thinking that they’re smarter than anyone else. I guess if you’re stuck on Long Island and can’t get anywhere any pinhead would consider themselves smart. A Mets fan is scolding me on how Red Sox fans are the “shittiest” – my word, how about the ass stadium the Mets play in? Right up there with the old Vet in Philly – A DUMP.

Has anyone in this comment section realized how masturbatory it is to try and figure out whose fans are the “worst”?

Nobody is going to say that fans of their own team are the worst, and everybody can tell an “asshole fan” story from anywhere in the country. Are Boston fans the worst in the country? Mets fans? Yankees fans? Giants? Phillies? It depends on whom you ask; there is never going to be a correct answer so debate on the topic is pointless.

To Pete: You said, “this is war.”

I’m gonna have to echo my own sentiment from much earlier in this thread: It. Is. A GAME.

The playoffs are not an excuse to assault anybody. Shame on you if you think otherwise.

Sox fans take their cues from the hardcore fanbase, drunk Irish guys from Southie and crotchety New Englanders. Therefore, they are belligerant. As a crotchety New Englander and a Sox fan, I feel free to say this.

(I became convinced that the Sox were losing because I kept falling asleep on the couch watching the games. So, last night I forced myself to stay up. They won. Coincidence? I think not. )

hey easy on us drunk Irish sox/bruins/pats fans (I’m a nawth shah native actually) – easy easy – I’m not deny that Sox fans are a bit “churlish/childish” – what I’m objecting to is the categorization that we Sox fans are the “worst”. Being a fan is great and sucky at times, but comparing ourselves to others is what makes being fan ever so fun and something to discuss/debate/harangue with extended family/friends/enemies. It is jesting with a little bit of spite mixed in – If you’ve got soft skin or transparent backbones, go play solitaire.

plasticman – its tough to argue with the fact that because shea stadium is a dump, mets fans are worse than red sox fans. i think what may be angering you so much is that red sox fans have become yankee fans, except worse, and youre have a tough time dealing with it.

i agree with you about long island tho. im stuck here and i cant get anywhere. somebody help me get out of here!

Doug, I think it would be equally pointless to debate who the best are. Of course I would say the Royals have the best fans, because I am one. But fans of other teams will say that *their* team has the best fans. There’s no purpose in arguing either subject.

yeah there is probably no point in arguing who is the worst/best, since it will just be personal opinion vs personal opinion, but lets all agree on two things 1) its not right to physically assault fans for anything and that goes double if the fans have no penises and 2) red sox fans suck ass. some of them are nice and dont toally suck, but for the most part everyone hates them because they complain about the yankees all the time and are now worse than them.

This does not SHOCK me at all. As a Tigers fan, I have gone to lots of “enemy” stadiums to see Tigers games. I went to a Tigers/Indians game in Cleveland in September and it was appalling. Not quite as bad as what is described, here, but 10 times worse than anything I have experienced in other stadiums. Most stadiums home fans are respectful to visiting fans as long as you are respectful to them. But not in Cleveland. We were taunted mecilessly by the Cleveland fans. It all boils down to the fact that they haven’t won ANYTHING in any sport in forever, and they have no idea how to act when they have a tiny bit of success. I will never go to Cleveland for another game in my life because it was a horrible experience.

Also- I AM from Ohio and just because Cleveland fans are cretins doesn’t mean the rest of us are. Most of us have the sense to root for another team.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! Now hold on just a second. You all just can’t bring up Jodie Foster’s miniskirt and just stop right there. At least mention a pinball machine.

And Metschick, I actually dabble in “Super AIDS” quite a bit on the old bloggy blog. But in a fun way. Like, “I pray to God every night that Cleveland fans with no grasp of grammar or an elementary ability to type catch Super AIDS and make this country better again.”

Have fun in the World Series, Tribe fans who have stopped by to be cockbags. Feel free to come back and let us know what it’s like to be swept by a NL West team.

As a Tribe fan, I am horribly embarrassed by the treatment the Ladies… received at our stadium. It was completely out of bounds and inexcusable under any circumstances. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I do have issue with the commentors here going off on Cleveland the way they have. Yes, it was a horrible experience. One that has undoubtedly repeated itself at every ball park in the major leagues one time or another. Doesn’t make it remotely acceptable. Also doesn’t mean that all Clevelanders are such jerks. Isn’t it ironic that people here are castigating people at the Jake for racism in the same post that they label Ohio residents as fat white trash wall-mart ignoramuses? Don’t embarrass yourselves by being as shitty and closeminded a person as those you are (rightfully) criticizing.

You went to a hardcore show and were surprised that it was violent and a little crazy? That’s your reason for not liking Cleveland? Dude, grow a pair. Seriously. You were at a punk show, not the frigging library.

Sorry for your bad experience. I was in the upper deck and there were a bunch of annoying Red Soxs fans that were treated fine. There was even a few morons wearing Yankees caps…not sure who they were rooting for.

I must say however, that your comments about Ohio and Cleveland are part of the reason why people react the way they do to you and fans from other teams. Your Walmart comments and the fact that you have to be drunk to enjoy Cleveland or the fact that Cleveland “smells” may be funny, but for me, I’m kinda sick of that from other people around the country slighting the city/region I live in. Personally, I love Cleveland and Ohio. I have lived in other parts of the country and love being back home. Why is it OK for you to make nasty personal comments but then expect people to be happy that you are rooting for Boston?

I also, with all due respect, question the truth of this blog. I also question, while not condoning people bumping you etc, what caused these fans to react the way they did. If I was in Michigan for the Michigan OSU game, personally, I would keep a low profile and not rub things in people’s faces as I would fully expect to being harassed. Were you taunting and talking trash?

If you were at Game 3 then I’m sure you noticed that there wasn’t much for a Sox fan to cheer about. We weren’t “rubbing [anything] in people’s faces”…we just clapped for our batters and yelled for our pitchers (except Manny DelCarmen). We’ve both been to enough big games and enough away games (especially Texas Gal) to know what’s acceptable visiting fan behavior. The simple fact is that our presence was enough to draw the ire of our section. I mentioned before, we were 2 Sox fans surrounded by Cleveland fans…we were outnumbered and smart enough to know it.

Finally, I did not make personal comments to any of the other fans. As an author and comedian, my attempts at humor are restricted to the written word or paid engagements. But after a miserable evening that cost the equivalent of a month’s worth of groceries, I think I’m allowed to crack a joke or two. Trust me, words don’t hurt as much as a full bottle of Aquafina being launched at your back.

No doubt that what you endured, is unacceptable. But your attacks on my city and state are unwarranted. Your critique (and the others posting) of the game should be limited to those that offended you and not paint all of us as ignorant abusive women-hating losers that live in a sess-pool called Cleveland.

Actually, I attended game 5. As I mentioned, there were plenty of Red Soxs fan in the upper deck. Many times, they turned around clapping and staring at the Indians fans in a “rub it in your face” manner. Not one comment was made to then(though in my opinion some were warranted). I think what really irritates people in other cities about Yankee and Red Sox’s fans is that the arrive in a city like locust and that soooo annoying chant of “lets go red sox!”.

I’m sincerely sorry, Cleveland. You had an excellent season and a strong, talented team who wasn’t going to stop fighting until the very last out. You should be proud of what your boys accomplished this year but I know that, for a sports fan, there’s no hurt greater than the day your season ends, and for that alone I sympathize with you.

The worst thing you could possibly hear today is anything involving the phrase “next year”, so instead I’ll again express my condolences, shake your collective hands and say “good game”, and tell you that while it does hurt right now, when you later look back on the Indian’s season, it’s nothing you should feel bad about.

I find IndianFan’s logic bizarre. You don’t like Yankees and Red Sox fans because there are a lot of them and because they cheer for their team by saying, “Let’s go [insert team name]”? What exactly is the alternative?

Also, if the image your city is presenting to the outside world is that old angry, towel-toting mullets and racist old dudes, I think it’s perfectly fair to make fun of it.

I was also at game 3 at the jake. I was also wearing “opposing colors”. I was also harassed, cursed at and had things thrown at me. I am not a pretty young lady like the authors of this article, but I am a 50 yr old grandmother and I was at this game with my beautiful 24 yr old PREGNANT daughter. We were totally respectful of those around us, but that was not reciprocated. There is no excuse on earth for getting physical, especially with a pregnant woman in the line of fire, over a baseball game. That we lost, by the way, gracefully. Looking back on it now, I can only wonder if there is such a thing as karma….